Devils won't change identity after Golden Knights' Cup win

Alex Chauvancy opines Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald is smart to stick to his guns.

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By Alex Chauvancy (@AlexC_THW)

While the Vegas Golden Knights — a big and heavy team — winning the Stanley Cup may give certain NHL general managers the wrong lessons, it doesn't seem that'll be the case for New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald. 

During yesterday's Jesper Bratt press conference, Fitzgerald was asked about the Golden Knights winning the Stanley Cup and their roster build. What he said should have most Devils fans encouraged with the offseason about to get busy: 

We'll get to what he said about Nolan Foote and Ondrej Palát in a second, but more importantly, Fitzgerald said the Devils wouldn't be changing their identity based on the type of team that won Stanley Cup. Nor should they.

For starters, if the Devils wanted to change their identity, that'll be a problem for players like Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier and Bratt. All of a sudden, players who thrive at playing a fast, rush-based style of hockey will get asked to up their physical game. Would that work? Highly unlikely.